Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology has expanded rapidly in recent years. Today, it is present everywhere, from face-recognition in Amazon stores to help bots on customer service websites.
For businesses, it is essential to analyze and adopt new tech trends, and to harness the power of expanding AI capabilities to become more efficient and productive - and to stay competitive.
One prime way of doing so is to dive deep into the AI features that are integrated into most modern business phone services that run on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Here is an overview of the most useful AI and machine learning applications that top-range VoIP business phone services offer their clients - and how you can tap into their power to boost your own business.
“1!”
“Please press 1 for customer service. Press 2 for -“
“1!”
“Please press 1 if your request relates to -“
“Argh!”
This is an exchange with which all customers are familiar. Calling a business, and then spending minutes listening to multiple rounds of a recorded voice reeling off a menu of choices, before finally getting routed to an extension. Only to end up being on hold for half an hour.
More likely than not, a caller who has gone through this ordeal will be irritated by the time they get to speak to an actual human company representative.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) eliminates the process.
Photo: pressfoto/ Freepik
Based on AI-powered voice recognition technology, IVR receptionists let callers quickly state the purpose of their call and their expectations in their own words. The request is then processed within a fraction of a second, and the call routed to the right extension.
Not only does this save callers an immense amount of frustration, but it also lightens the load on company lines since requests are processed much more efficiently.
VoIP features such as voicemail-to-email and voicemail-to-text are based on this principle. As the names of these features suggest, they take voicemail messages, transcribe them, and then send them to your email inbox, or your chosen messaging platform.
That means that no matter where you are - in a meeting, on your commute, or on a business trip - you can instantly catch up on your voicemail messages without having to wait to get back to the office. It’s also convenient since you can then respond quickly, systematically file them to be taken care of later, or archive them entirely.
In the same manner, AI can transcribe entire conversations between customers and company representatives. Such conversations can then be stored in internal databases or applications like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Down the line, such a virtual paper trail comes in handy in case of disputes. It’s also useful when you’re looking to create a personal connection with a customer and want to refer back to information they gave you earlier.
In a business world that is becoming increasingly international, this can be a saving grace. With customers, team members, and business partners based around the globe, having AI-based translation technology built into business phone services facilitates communication. And paves the way to business success.
Whether it’s the transcription and subsequent translation of voicemail, the instant translation of messages sent by partners overseas, or a vocabulary popup for a company agent on a foreign-language call, AI can be an invaluable asset in navigating international waters.
One of the most fundamental advantages of AI and machine learning algorithms is that they have the power to deal with staggering amounts of data in a matter of seconds. And to provide in-depth, actionable insights for businesses to optimize their strategies.
In VoIP business phone services, AI-driven analytics can be used to gain better insights into call metrics, caller behavior, and the performance of individual company agents. Over time, as data accumulates, the algorithms will become smarter, more adept at recognizing patterns, and at reporting vital information. On the basis of this information, businesses can act.
Delving even deeper, AI-powered analytics can also be used to systematically mine call transcripts for nuggets of information. In conjunction with CRM systems, this allows you to optimize personalization for everything from follow-up calls and text message campaigns to website visits and email marketing.
On the basis of the data delivered by analytics, you can perform a review of various processes in your enterprise. With some VoIP providers, you can even have your AI application produce such a report automatically.
Once you’re aware of the performance of individual agents, teams, process flows, and internal structures, you can use AI and machine learning to improve areas of low efficiency.
You can do this by harnessing AI to do anything from streamline workflows by automatically shuffling tasks between agents based on their performance, or automating cumbersome and monotonous processes such as the scheduling of follow-ups.
Many modern business phone services capitalize on this technology to provide the best possible user experience to their clients.
However, the extent to which AI and machine learning features are implemented in VoIP platforms varies between providers. Therefore, the extent to which these technologies are available should be a key area of consideration when you’re figuring out how to choose a VoIP service from the many offers on the market.
At the end of the day, with the right business phone service, and the right tools, AI has the power to boost your business communications.
For businesses, it is essential to analyze and adopt new tech trends, and to harness the power of expanding AI capabilities to become more efficient and productive - and to stay competitive.
One prime way of doing so is to dive deep into the AI features that are integrated into most modern business phone services that run on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Here is an overview of the most useful AI and machine learning applications that top-range VoIP business phone services offer their clients - and how you can tap into their power to boost your own business.
1 - Interactive Voice Response
“Please press 1 if you are an existing customer. Press 2 if -““1!”
“Please press 1 for customer service. Press 2 for -“
“1!”
“Please press 1 if your request relates to -“
“Argh!”
This is an exchange with which all customers are familiar. Calling a business, and then spending minutes listening to multiple rounds of a recorded voice reeling off a menu of choices, before finally getting routed to an extension. Only to end up being on hold for half an hour.
More likely than not, a caller who has gone through this ordeal will be irritated by the time they get to speak to an actual human company representative.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) eliminates the process.
Photo: pressfoto/ Freepik
Based on AI-powered voice recognition technology, IVR receptionists let callers quickly state the purpose of their call and their expectations in their own words. The request is then processed within a fraction of a second, and the call routed to the right extension.
Not only does this save callers an immense amount of frustration, but it also lightens the load on company lines since requests are processed much more efficiently.
2 - Call Transcription
Another handy application of AI in business phone services is call transcription. The same voice recognition technology that powers IVR can also be used to transform call recordings into text documents.VoIP features such as voicemail-to-email and voicemail-to-text are based on this principle. As the names of these features suggest, they take voicemail messages, transcribe them, and then send them to your email inbox, or your chosen messaging platform.
That means that no matter where you are - in a meeting, on your commute, or on a business trip - you can instantly catch up on your voicemail messages without having to wait to get back to the office. It’s also convenient since you can then respond quickly, systematically file them to be taken care of later, or archive them entirely.
In the same manner, AI can transcribe entire conversations between customers and company representatives. Such conversations can then be stored in internal databases or applications like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Down the line, such a virtual paper trail comes in handy in case of disputes. It’s also useful when you’re looking to create a personal connection with a customer and want to refer back to information they gave you earlier.
3 - Translation Assistance
Today, Deep Learning translation AIs can produce incredibly accurate renderings of texts and conversations in a matter of seconds.In a business world that is becoming increasingly international, this can be a saving grace. With customers, team members, and business partners based around the globe, having AI-based translation technology built into business phone services facilitates communication. And paves the way to business success.
Whether it’s the transcription and subsequent translation of voicemail, the instant translation of messages sent by partners overseas, or a vocabulary popup for a company agent on a foreign-language call, AI can be an invaluable asset in navigating international waters.
4 - Analytics
One of the most fundamental advantages of AI and machine learning algorithms is that they have the power to deal with staggering amounts of data in a matter of seconds. And to provide in-depth, actionable insights for businesses to optimize their strategies.
In VoIP business phone services, AI-driven analytics can be used to gain better insights into call metrics, caller behavior, and the performance of individual company agents. Over time, as data accumulates, the algorithms will become smarter, more adept at recognizing patterns, and at reporting vital information. On the basis of this information, businesses can act.
Delving even deeper, AI-powered analytics can also be used to systematically mine call transcripts for nuggets of information. In conjunction with CRM systems, this allows you to optimize personalization for everything from follow-up calls and text message campaigns to website visits and email marketing.
5 - Process Automation
Finally, a strong suit of AI applications in general, and their VoIP versions in particular, is that they can help streamline and automate processes. Boosting your business’s efficiency has never been easier.On the basis of the data delivered by analytics, you can perform a review of various processes in your enterprise. With some VoIP providers, you can even have your AI application produce such a report automatically.
Once you’re aware of the performance of individual agents, teams, process flows, and internal structures, you can use AI and machine learning to improve areas of low efficiency.
You can do this by harnessing AI to do anything from streamline workflows by automatically shuffling tasks between agents based on their performance, or automating cumbersome and monotonous processes such as the scheduling of follow-ups.
The Bottom Line
In the modern business world, AI has become an integral part of efficient and effective operations in everything from marketing to logistics.Many modern business phone services capitalize on this technology to provide the best possible user experience to their clients.
However, the extent to which AI and machine learning features are implemented in VoIP platforms varies between providers. Therefore, the extent to which these technologies are available should be a key area of consideration when you’re figuring out how to choose a VoIP service from the many offers on the market.
At the end of the day, with the right business phone service, and the right tools, AI has the power to boost your business communications.
